New Delhi, Aug. 11: The Supreme Court today asked the Gujarat government to pay Rs 10 lakh as interim “ex gratia” to the family of fake-encounter victim Sohrabuddin Sheikh after the state refused to hike the amount.

The sum, to be deposited with the court registrar within a week, will be distributed among Sohrabuddin’s mother and three brothers.

Gujarat police allegedly killed Sohrabuddin, a small-time criminal, in 2005 claiming he was a terrorist, and shot his wife Kausar Bi dead a few days later. The state government initially denied foul play but later admitted in court that Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter.

A two-judge bench passed today’s order after the state agreed to pay “interim ex gratia” for the killings. An ex gratia is usually granted as a favour and not as a matter of right.

Gujarat government counsel Mukul Rohatgi refused to hike the offered compensation despite the bench repeatedly asking the state to reconsider the amount. “Would you like to reconsider the amount in the light of earlier precedents?” the bench asked.

“I don’t think so. Your Lordships may pass any order,” Rohatgi said.

He also rejected a court proposal to consider handing over the investigation to a special investigation team (SIT). “We don’t accept it. We have to be heard,” the counsel said.

The court said it would hear the matter of an SIT probe on September 2. Sohrabuddin’s terminally ill brother, Rubabuddin, had demanded the killings be probed by an SIT headed by former CBI chief R.K. Raghavan.

He had opposed a probe by the state police on the ground that they were “biased” and instead asked for a CBI probe or at least an independent investigation.

Although the state government has admitted that Sohrabuddin and Kausar were picked up from a place near Ahmedabad, it has so far failed to explain how the wife was killed and all the evidence in the case destroyed.

The state also resisted a proposal to pay compensation to the mother of Tulsiram Prajapati, a man picked up with the couple and allegedly killed by the Gujarat police. The court will take up Narmadabai’s plea for relief later.

The Gujarat government has suspended two senior police officers, deputy inspector-general D.G. Vanzara and superintendent of police Rajkumar Pandian, in connection with the fake encounter.

Criminal cases have been initiated against officers involved in the incident.

The case acquired a political hue during the last Gujarat Assembly elections, when chief minister Narendra Modi defended the killing while speaking at a rally in December 2007. Rubabuddin then demanded an impartial probe.

Riot trial

The trial in the Gulbarg Society riot case began in a special court in Ahmedabad today, reports PTI. Charges were framed against 62 of the 63 people accused of killing former MP Ehsan Jaffry and 38 others on February 28, 2002.

The prime accused include Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP leaders and a deputy superintendent of police.